Fringe of War
by Yinwolf
Summary: A new uprising has come from within the pride. A young lion aims to take over his fathers dream of controlling Pride Rock, but will his sister prove smart enough to stop him?


Chapter 1

-Building on Sand-

Trickles of white light began to move their way across the horizon as the sun began its rise into the sky. The few acacia trees that dotted the land cast shadows that made them look like gouls as they stretched, yet as the giant orb floated higher the shadows disappeared.

Mahiri stepped out from the pride cave, his gray fur sparking silver as he stepped into the light. The teen stepped firmly up the rise and sat at the edge, looking out over the pridelands. His dual toned eyes narrowed and his tail swept against the ground with some agitation. This should be his fathers land, not that gruelsome lion Kovu.

Soft noises of pawpad against stone caught his attention. His nose twitched and he sighed, knowing who it was. "What do you want Nishati?" the footfalls stopped and he smirked, picturing the surprised look on the white lions face.

"How'd you know?" the prince asked, his tone was equal to the amount of surprise. Mahiri rolled his eyes and stood, turning to face the other lion. His eyes were still narrowed as he looked at the rival. They were about the same height but Nishati's mane was more full and well groomed. It made the gray lion even more frustrated.

"Dear Nishati, an eagle could hear you from it's highest point in the sky." Mahiri stated, slowly walking towards the other lion, making sure his footfalls were soft and unheard. "What kind of king do you think you'll be if you can't even sneak up on one of your own kind?"

The white lion forgot his question at the comment and his teeth bared slightly. "I just need practice!" he growled, stalking after Mahiri as he turned and headed down the path off of pride rock. "What makes you think your better?"

Mahiri snorted before a grin crossed over his features. "I was born a lord's son, I'm the best at everything." he said, flicking his tail across Nishati's muzzle before ducking down over the edge of the rock platform they were walking on. He sharply turned and dug his claws into the stone and he hung there, satisfied at the shadows that crossed over him and thumped to the ground below. It wasn't a sheer drop but a lion could still sprain a muscle trying to jump from the height.

There was a loud angry growl and the lion looked over his shoulder down at the prince. His eyes narrowed at the fact the white lion seemed unharmed, he had hoped to do a little damage at least. Slowly he slunk down the rock before releasing his claws and falling to the ground. As soon as his hind paws touched ground he threw himself to the right and into a roll. Nishati was right there waiting for him.

"You were never a lord son, or a kings son, whatever you want to call it!" the larger teen growled, his teeth bared. "Your father was a failure!"

This time Mahiri let out a growl of his own, that soon turned into a rawr. His dual colored eyes gleamed as he came up face to face with Nishati. "My Father was twice the king yours ever will be! And I'LL be sure to take the place for him!"

Before Nishati could react another loud voice caught their attention. "What's going on down there!?" though the growl was as any growl should ever be, the words had a smooth tone to them. Mahiri's ears pinned back slightly but Nishati had turned to look up at the platform where Kovu stood.

"Conspiracy." the white lion said simply glaring at Mahiri.

"I've done to such thing!" Mahiri defended. He truly hadn't done anything, yet at least.

There was a disappointed sigh before Kovu came down the ramp to meet them. His green gave was cold as it first settled on his son, then on Mahiri. "First, You two should know better than to argue this early in the morning." he stated first. The gray lion lowered his ears completely while the white lion joined him, ears pinned back in guilt. "Second, Nishati. Lions may have a dark heritage, but that doesn't mean they are themselves in fact a being of evil." he paused. "You came from one yourself."

"You didn't hear what he said!" Nishati tried to inject, ignoring the stab at his heritage, but Kovu simply shook his head.

"No, I didn't. A lions words can change, it's his actions that define him." The king stated, knowing that deciding on the words was part of defining, but he had to get Nishati to calm down in some way. As his son opened his mouth again he narrowed his eyes and shot him a glare. "End of discussion. Now Mahiri, come with me."

There was a moment of stock silence where the two teens glanced at each other, but slowly Mahiri stepped forward to Kovu's side. The dark brown lion dipped his head to Nishati before turning and walking away, Mahiri on his heels.

Nishati watched them for a moment before baring his fangs with a growl and stalking away towards the watering hole.

At the peak of Pride Rock two lionesses watched as the lions went on their separate ways. The younger lioness sighed and Kiara nuzzled her shoulder sympathetically. "Things will come together in time Siku, you'll see."

Siku's green gaze turned towards the queen and she nodded, though her expression stayed in one of distress. "Things will seem to get better, but if I've learned anything from Rafiki… I can feel in my heart it won't end well."

They both fell silent, Siku's gaze was on her brother as he traveled with Kovu out towards the edge of the territory, then she turned her head, gaze lingering on Nishati. Then her eyes closed and she shook her head.

"Kiara, why is it…" she trailed off as she realized the older wasn't by her anymore. She must have taken the silence as her cue to leave. Siku's tail drooped, but her head was held high as she made her way back down the giant rock, heading for Rafiki's tree so she could do some meditation to keep her head straight.

"This is where I grew up." Kovu said, sitting down in the middle of the oddly shaped rocks and plots of dust. Mahiri looked around, his eyes wide. He hadn't known such a barren place existed, let alone someone there to live in it. Though as he peered into a few holes he could smell the lingering order of lioness.

His gaze turned back to the King. "Why? Don't all kings live at Pride Rock for their life?" the question must have seemed stupid to Kovu, but Mariri was never trusted with the history of the pride. Then it clicked in his head _you came from one yourself. _Kovu had been talking about his own past then, as he was now. Perhaps he was finally going to learn what kept the kings head so high.

The two lions locked gazes for a moment and Kovu sighed, surprising Mahiri. Never had he known the king to sigh and hang his head in disappointment. It was a sign of defeat to most. "Not all, My mother was an outcast who followed Scar's wants." His expression changed a bit to acquire amusement at Mahiri's confused expression.

"Scar was…" Kovu bit his lip, unsure of how to explain about the tyrant. He'd have to start from the beginning. "Here, come this way and I'll explain it to you."

The pair wandered through the broken land, Kovu explained the story while Mahiri listened intently. He also took good notice to what the king explained about the functions or purpose for each rock and place. By the time they had traveled the extent of the outlands the sun was starting to set and Mahiri mind was buzzing with the new information.

As they walked back to Pride Rock Kovu's look turned serious. "I've told you this so you have a better understanding of the land and so you can make the right choices in the future." he started, earning Mahiri's full attention.

"Why do you say that?" the young lion asked, quirking an invisible eyebrow.

"Because." The king started "If Nishati… Isn't able to perform his duties properly, you'll need to take order of the pride." he looked a bit apprehensive to be telling this, but the young lion had to learn someday. "Kiara and I adopted you, another reason why it's fit for you to take place."

Mahiri paused, looking at Kovu with a sort of shock. But he pushed it aside quickly and dipped his head with a manner of respect. "I understand." He didn't want to push any more questioned and jeopardize anything of that now. Little did he know Kovu took the lack of questioning as suspicious, but he didn't question that either.

As they continued on thoughts were forming into Mahiri's head. This had been quite the experience for him, and he realized that he would be able to put his plan into action sooner than he originally thought.

-One Year Later-

Siku paced around the edge of the tree loft, tail lashing slightly. She had been uneasy all day and had come out to spend the night with Rafiki, but she still couldn't keep her mind clear. The space was already small, and her pacing set off multiple tools to fall to the floor. Finally Rafiki snapped.

"Calm down! I haven't received any signs, the past kings have told of no downfalls so everything is fine." the baboon said sternly while he bent to pick up a knocked over bowl of flower seeds.

The lioness sat down with a thump at the words. "I'm sorry. But it feels bad, why can't you feel it?" she questioned, after all she had learned what she did from the old friend, he should know more than she did.

Before Rafiki could answer a swift wind blew through the tree, causing all the branches to rattle violently. A nut fell down, splashing into a bowl of paint at Siku's feet and splashing the substance on her paws, another large nut came down and cracked into the lionesses head.

"Gah!" she winced, her claws extending and dragging across the tree bottom as she scooted back. After a few more seconds the wind stopped and Siku scrunched her face at the feeling of the berry paint on her paws. She looked down at them to see how much time she would need to be in the water washing her paws when she noticed the claw marks.

The paint had seeped into the marks, creating the illusion that they were bloodstained and still running. Everything came crashing down on the lioness like a boulder. Senses of blood, death, and panic filled her and her mouth dropped agape at the rush of it all. "I got to go!" she said quickly to Rafiki before she turned and slid down the tree.

"Hey! You should stay and help clean up!" the old monkey called, herbs flowers and paints alike were scattered around the tree. Yet as he looked toward the claw marks he then understood too what had happened. "Oh boy…" he murmured, sitting back to ponder.

Siku was rushing at a breakneck pace towards Pride Rock. At the edge of her vision she could see a swarm of movement before her but the night left her vision out of place. Yet as she drew near she could see it was some of the lionesses, led by Nishati. A good ways ahead of them she could see a blur of gray and her heart skipped. _What have you done. _She thought.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to catch up with the group she headed right for the slope up to the large platform. Many of the lionesses had hung back and they now formed a circle around someone. Siku slowly approached, her expression curling into shock and sadness as she Vitani's limp body and lifeless blue eyes. There were long bloodied scratch marks running across her neck as well as down her side. Chunks of dark gray fur said the old lioness hadn't went down without a fight.

"What happened?" she asked the lioness next to her, even though the idea was pretty well in her head. Stella looked up slightly towards Siku, her brown eyes painted with tears.

"Your brother, made a whole big act before he lashed out and Killed Vitani." she murmured, shaking her head. "Something about how blood didn't matter."

Siku nodded slightly before padding forward to the limp body. A lump rose in her throat, but she ignored it and gently closed Vitani's eyes. After she did so a looming fell over her and she stepped to the side to let Kovu stand beside his adoptive sister.

The young lioness watched for a moment before turning and leaving the circle. She did not want to see the mourning. "What a fool." she murmured under her breath. She descended from Pride Rock and made her way out to the open, looking towards the last spot she had seen her brother. It took a few good minutes before the saw Nishati coming back from the outlands. His head was held high but the lionesses that followed looked dejected. _Must have lost him. _was Siku's only thought.

When Nishati saw Siku his eyes narrowed and she flinched slightly. She knew she would probably be an outcast for a while now, they were untrusted in the first place and now her Mahiri had to go and make things even worse.

"Nishati-" Siku started, wanting to make up some ridiculous reason for her brother, but the glare she received stopped her notion.

"You knew about this didn't you?" the white lion growled, startling Siku a bit.

She resisted the urge to curl her lip. "I knew nothing!" the lioness retorted. "I'm just as surprised as you are he did this!" in honestly, she wasn't surprised Mahiri had killed fellow pride member, but she was surprised he had even acted out. She always thought he was too scared or wary too…

Nishati snorted. "Of course you didn't know. That's why you went out to hide with Rafiki right beforehand, right?" he challenged.

Siku dug her claws into the ground. It was impossible to argue with the stubborn prince, when he thought something was right he stuck to it even if it was wrong. That didn't mean she was going to be put down so easily though. "Sure! That's it. I had known it was going to happen and didn't prevent it at all! I just let it happen and went on with my dazed little world of happiness."

Before anyone could reply the lioness turned and ran. She didn't want to hear any more of it. Especially because she had thought she was getting through to Nishati, but apparently she was always going to be the sister of a delinquent or the daughter of a rebel captain. Nothing on her own.

Paws slapped against the ground and carried Siku to a place she didn't even know. When she stumbled upon a large boulder with a small pool beside it she halted her movements and flopped down on the ground, her heart racing.

Her mind was a sudden blur of questions, What had Mahiri been thinking? Why now? How did he think he could overthrow an entire Pride on his own? Had he known Vitani was their kin? Siku took a few deep breaths. Her gaze going towards the outlands, normally she was in such a peaceful state, but this once she actually felt angry.

"You want to live out our fathers goal?" she roared, standing and starting to pace around the water. "You want to become a tyrant like Scar? You want to follow the stereotype?" her tail whipped through the air as she continued. "Well guess what! I DON'T. I WANT TO LIVE MY OWN LIFE AND NOT BE BLAMED FOR WHAT I HAVEN'T DONE!"

Her voice trailed away into a sob and she pulled herself over to the boulder sheltering herself. Tears threatened to spill but she forced her eyes closed and lowered her head. Perhaps some sleep would calm her nerves and she could find her way back to the Pride tomorrow. Hopefully… they would all understand and make her out as innocent, and perhaps one day she could see Mahiri again.


End file.
